Post Production Terms CRAS
Dialogue (DX) - answerrecordings of voices, ex: voices saying words, Breathing,
laughing, coughing and other sounds related to the human mouth
Music (MX) - answerMusic is used to guide the viewer's emotional experience
throughout the film. In some cases, music is simply chosen and licensed to be included
in the finished work. In other cases, original music is written and performed in sync with
the picture.
Sound Effects (SFX) - answerAlmost everything that is not dialogue or music is likely to
be considered to be a sound effect. ex: From explosions and lazer blasts, to smaller
sounds like GUI beeps, and even background sounds like wind through a field or urban
street sounds of a city
Foley - answerit is the process of performing sound effects in sync with, and while
watching the picture, and recording them to be used in the soundtrack. Sounds of
footsteps, clothing rustles, typing, and other sounds with very specific timing and
velocity are created in this way
2-Pop - answerA 1 kHz tone, one frame in duration which occurs in the audio track,
coinciding with a visual cue in the picture. This is used to create a sync point between a
sound mix delivered as audio-only, and the picture itself. It usually occurs two seconds
prior to picture start, thus the name two-pop. The visual sync point that it aligns with is
called a "flash frame." This is one frame of white screen followed by two full seconds of
black screen
3:2 Pull Down - answerDuring a traditional telecine transfer to convert 24 FPS film to
interlaced 29.97 FPS video, each odd frame of film is copied to two video fields, each
even frame of film is copied to three video fields. This produces 60 fields of video (aka
30 frames of video) from 24 film frames. When the resulting 30 video frames are played
0.1% slower, at 29.97 FPS, the overall duration of the program is 0.1% longer than the
original film version. For this reason, any audio that synchronized to the 24 FPS version
must also be slowed 0.1% in order to sync properly
AAF - answeralternative to OMF, it is a universal file format used to transfer projects
between different DAWs and NLEs
ADR - answerA studio designed specifically for recording ADR. Because dialogue
recorded during ADR has to believable fit into scenes taking place in a variety of
different environments, ADR stages are acoustically treated to be very dead
, Aspect Ratio - answerThe width-to-height ratio of an image, motion picture, or screen.
By defining standardized aspect ratios, program material can be scaled to different
resolutions without stretching or distorting the image.
B-Roll - answerA term used to describe alternate footage, shot to intercut with the
primary shots used in a program. B-roll is often shot MOS, meaning without audio.
Backgrounds - answerSound effects which recreate the background noise of the space
seen on screen. Usually several different layers fill the surrounds and screen channels.
Backgrounds are part of the creative storytelling and are used to create an impression
of the space or the characters inhabiting it. Mono backgrounds can also be used to
mask problems, or in other ways enhance the room tone
Black Burst - answerBlack Burst is a synchronization pulse that matches the refresh
rates (frame rates) of different video devices and platforms. If each device ignores its
internal timing circuit and instead uses Black Burst to clock its refresh rate or timecode
rate, timing problems will be eliminated.
Blimp - answerA large pill-shaped basket whose surfaces are a grill of light plastic, lined
internally with foam. It provides wind diffusion for microphones.
BNC - answerA professional connector for wide-bandwidth coaxial (coax) cable. It is the
standard for connector type for SDI video, and is used for component and composite
video in professional applications. It is also the standard connector type for cables
carrying clocking signals like wordclock, Black Burst and tri-level sync
BWAV - answerAn extension of the WAV file format that includes additional metadata
such as timecode, scene, shot and take number, and other useful production
information
Cueing - answerDocumenting the specific timecode start and end times when a
dialogue line, foley element, piece of music, or any specific clip of audio needs to be
placed in the soundtrack. At present, this is most often done by creating slugs in Pro
Tools that can later be overwritten with the desired sound
Cue Sheet - answerA document that identifies at what specific timecode start and end
time that each sound will, or currently does happen. They are sometimes displayed as
vertical columns, per track, with events arrayed chronologically from the top of the page
to the bottom, leading some to describe them as vertical time-based track sheets
Dailies - answerRefers to the workflow when shooting film in which the reels are sent to
the lab at the end of each shooting day, developed overnight, and returned to the set for
review in the morning...daily. Even on digital shoots, it is not uncommon to have a
designated time in the morning to review yesterday's footage.